Should I seal my Rec Tec grill? Answered!

[Mike]

I've seen a lot of people ask whether or not they should seal their Rec Tec grills and I wanted to share with you the answer to that question.

First, what do I mean by sealing your grill? I'm referring to the felt or rope material some people have installed on their Rec Tec lids.

The idea is to prevent smoke of "leaking" out the edges of the lid. It's also said that sealing the lid helps retain some heat and thus decreasing your pellet usage. Another benefit of sealing the lid is that it keeps the surrounding areas around the lid cleaner and clear of the patina that comes with cooking on the grill.

All the benefits sounded pretty good and really the idea of keeping the outside cleaner really sounded good to me as I'd prefer to keep the grill looking as good (new) as possible. So I ordered me a roll of the Fireblack 3/4"x15' gasket.

Should I seal the Rec Tec lid?

The Fireblack arrived today, and right before I went to install it I gave Rec Tec Support a call. I told the support rep what I had and was planning on doing and that I my mean reasoning in doing it was to keep my Rec Tec Bull cleaner.

He response was that of course the grill was mine and I could do what I wanted to do to it. He also said that it would NOT void my warranty, but then he told me their recommendation. The Rec Tec support rep said they suggest not sealing the lids.

The reasoning being that the lids where actually designed to breath a bit.

Lastly he did say, that since I was wanting to keep the grill cleaner that I could install the seal on the top part of the lid to help reduce the leaking from there which would in turn keep that area cleaner. But again they do not recommend sealing all the way around.

Notice they didn't mention that your Rec Tec grill would blow up into a million pieces if I sealed it. Nor did they even deny any of the said benefits from above. Just that they don't recommend it and that the lid was designed to help the grill breath.

So really the answer is up to you. If you do seal it, then you're still going to be covered under warranty and maybe you will enjoy some of the benefits above.

For me, I haven't sealed the door yet. In fact I've only used two tiny pieces of the gasket on my lid stops to help protect the lid when I'm opening it.

I'm still debating on sealing the top of my lid, but for now I don't foresee myself sealing the entire door as I've seen other do. I'm already several cooks into my new Rec Tec Bull without a seal and I'll admit - the grill is working perfectly fine for me.

So are you running your Rec Tec with or without a seal?

 

[Ted]

Thanks for this information. I ordered a roll of Fireback 1/2 x 1/8 gasket material based on advice from someone on FB for my new RT-700. I'm going to hold off on using it and see how the grill performs without it.

 

[Mike]

@Ted, my Bull has been performing just fine without it. Though I'm still debating on doing the top part of the lid, just to keep it cleaner.

Then again it's pretty easy to clean the top of the grill using a mixture of LA's Totally Awesome cleaner and water.

 

[MellowJ]

I can attest to the fact that it makes sense not to seal in this manner...in most cases. Fire needs oxygen. The auger box just doesn't provide enough most of the time.
However, I would consider sealing it if you could not maintain smoking temps. If the temp never stayed low enough then it may make sense to give it some help by sealing.
I would start with just a partial seal, maybe just the sides, and go from there.

 

[Mike]

@MellowJ I've done cooks at 230 through 500 and have never had an issue getting to temp or keeping temp.

Would a seal allow me to get to temp faster? Maybe, but for me the Bull is performing just fine without it and Rec Tec recommends not sealing so I'll stick with what's working for now.

 

[MellowJ]

@MellowJ I've done cooks at 230 through 500 and have never had an issue getting to temp or keeping temp.

Would a seal allow me to get to temp faster? Maybe, but for me the Bull is performing just fine without it and Rec Tec recommends not sealing so I'll stick with what's working for now.

Actually, it's the other way around. Sealing will prevent air from entering, which causes Lower temps.
I often smoke at 175-200. Especially for pork shoulder - -> ideally at 205°

 

[Mike]

Actually, it's the other way around. Sealing will prevent air from entering, which causes Lower temps.

One would think that huh. But that's not what's being hyped as a positive for sealing the lids. Many are stating they are getting to temp faster since the air isn't leaking out of the grill.

 

[MellowJ]

Some peeps just don't do science.

One would think that huh. But that's not what's being hyped as a positive for sealing the lids. Many are stating they are getting to temp faster since the air isn't leaking out of the grill.

 

[Grilltreats]

I did seal my lid all the way around with a gasket from LavaLock that was made specifically for the Vision grill. It is 1" wide and 1/4" thick and is a superior product to the FireBlack 7/8" wide and 1/8" thick gasket it replaced, which deteriorated and flattened out rather quickly.

There is plenty of room for the grill to breathe through the smoke stack and the grease port, and I don't buy the manufactures recommendation. I think they probably miss the boat on the lid design as I do see other grills that have addressed this issue in their designs. Regardless, it is a easy fix and I love my Rec Tec.

One thing to note is that these gaskets do work well to hold in the smoke and heat when new, but the bottom gasket will eventually become saturated (depending on cleaning frequency/habits) and the air pressure from the fan will blow that saturated liquid out pass the gasket and onto the outer chamber.

The best fix would be a shallow overhanging trough that lips over the bottom edge of the chamber opening. This would catch any drippings and could be removed and cleaned or just wiped clean. This would solve the issue for the bottom drippings and could be made with stainless steel or aluminum and offered by Rec Tec as an accessory. This would save a lot of trouble having to clean the bottom of the chamber with scratch pads and mild abrasives frequently for those who like to retain a pretty Rec Tec grill as I do.

 

[Mike]

@Grilltreats are you just using scratch pads to clean the bottom of your barrel?

 

[navydroid]

I toy with the idea of putting a gasket on. Everything I've cooked comes out with a nice smoke flavor so I don't know if it's necessary. I actually have a roll of lavalock sitting in my shed that I bought with the purpose of sealing my rec tec 700 the same day I bought the rec tec. Just haven't seen the need to yet so I'm holding off.

As far as cleaning, it's a smoker, and mine looks used. To each his own though. I use mine to much to keep pretty. I usually wipe down the inside of the lid with a couple paper towels to reduce liquid buildup.

I do agree that a sort of trough would help. I think I've seen some homemade ones on YouTube. If someone could make them, they could certainly sell them. Look at the probe holders that are being sold now.

 

[Grilltreats]

@Grilltreats are you just using scratch pads to clean the bottom of your barrel?

I use Barkeepers Friend (liquid form) when needed to clean off the baked on spots. The gasket is holding up very well, so I haven't had to do any heavy cleaning lately.

 

[Stile 88]

Rectec says not to seal says it will restrict airflow

If this was a ceramic grill i would say defintley seal in fact that is what the seal is for and you would control airflow with your vents

 

[cookingjnj]

I do not have a Bull, I have the 680, so thus I also do not have the stainless barrel to think about keeping clean. I have cooked on the 680 in temps from as low as single digits to as high as mid 90's and have never had a problem with the pit getting to or keeping temps, or smoke flavor. I don't have anything to compare pellet usage so no help there. All being said, I have not seen a need to seal my 680.

 

[Nikolai]

Actually, it's the other way around. Sealing will prevent air from entering, which causes Lower temps.

Not exactly... Combustion air via the fan creates more complete combustion and thus higher temps, not the leaking of cooler ambient air, which can be entrained into interior convective flows via the leaky barrel door. Now, if enough smoke exit opening area is blocked such that it creates a flow restriction, that's a different story.

I'm new here, but definitely in the gasket camp... love reading everyone's experiences and will certainly share mine if I experiment with this.

 

[Grilltreats]

This Vision seal is holding up really well. It has lasted nearly a year now. As far as airflow, there is plenty from the smoke stack and drip chute. The grill stays much cleaner on the outside and the smoke is retained a little longer on the meats. There are no temp issues that I can detect. This is my RT-700 after 13 months of weekly use. I just cleaned the outside of it.

 

[NU2SMOKE]

This Vision seal is holding up really well. It has lasted nearly a year now. As far as airflow, there is plenty from the smoke stack and drip chute. The grill stays much cleaner on the outside and the smoke is retained a little longer on the meats. There are no temp issues that I can detect. This is my RT-700 after 13 months of weekly use. I just cleaned the outside of it.

Sure does look purdy!!!

 

[Uncle Bob]

This Vision seal is holding up really well. It has lasted nearly a year now. As far as airflow, there is plenty from the smoke stack and drip chute. The grill stays much cleaner on the outside and the smoke is retained a little longer on the meats. There are no temp issues that I can detect. This is my RT-700 after 13 months of weekly use. I just cleaned the outside of it.

BKF and Awesome cleaning solution, you're serious about keeping it clean, looks terrific.

 

[NU2SMOKE]

@Grilltreats do you have a link for that vision seal?

 

[Eddy]

This Vision seal is holding up really well. It has lasted nearly a year now. As far as airflow, there is plenty from the smoke stack and drip chute. The grill stays much cleaner on the outside and the smoke is retained a little longer on the meats. There are no temp issues that I can detect. This is my RT-700 after 13 months of weekly use. I just cleaned the outside of it.

View attachment 676

What are your cleaning steps to making it look this good?